Had Enough!!

[dragxs11]

I've had my last bad experience at the local bike shop! For awhile I've been thinking of opening up my own place. But I thought maybe there was one decent shop left in Reno. I was wrong. What if there was a place built mostly for bikers where you could get a steak or a burger and have your bike serviced while you watch? One thing that gets me is that they won't let me in the back to work with my mechanic. I know thats because of insurance issues, but I'd like to at least be able to see whose bashing on my cyl. head with a hammer. This sport is way overdue for a place where customers are treated like owners instead of outcasts in someones little kingdom. The reason for all this though is support. I wanna know how much backing I have for this. You guys agree, or am I just talking out of my butt?

[don07tncav]

Not a bad idea. Perhaps you would need pexiglass walls to protect your employees if the customers toss beer bottles at the mecanic if they see him screwing up!

[bkr]

Help THE Wrench

Years ago when i done body work we would get customers who liked to watch and comment on how the repair should be done. Got pi** ed off one day and made this sign Labour Rate 20.00 Hr. Your advice 25.00 Hr. Your Help 40.00 Hr. customers read the sign and left the body shop pronto.. My thought is if you take your bike in a shop you must trust them so let the wrench do his- her job. bkr

[dragxs11]

I hear you bkr. I'm sure that customers can be just as much of a hassle. If someone has a question about procedure though, it should be explainable if the work is being done right. But some people aren't so easy to explain things to. I know what your saying and I agree. But I've tried trust, and it's just to hard to find someone I can. $59 and hour is a a lot of money to pay to find out. Just spent $919 on a head rebuild that came back to me with multiple problems before I even rode it away. Not to mention chipped paint and filthy. I'm just saying that people should get better quality service, and from what I here Reno isn't the only place not up to par.
Just in, I heard that the Carson City HD dealer has done this type of thing. Still, what about the rest of us?

[bkr]

Had Enough

Hey dragXS11 You have a valid point, you pay the bucks you expect good work . here in Canada you have to be good and careful with the customers bike or you'r out the door. Great policy. Seems to work. 900.+ for a head job seem stiff to me and you have troubles. I think i would B*$# h quite loud. bkr

[Pat Kelly]

I've been an auto mechanic most of my professional life. I don't mind customers watching me but I'd prefer to be left alone to get the work done.
My main problem (and why I only wrench on my own stuff anymore) is I'm too detail oriented. If you're replacing a water pump I like to clean all the parts I removed, paint all the brackets, make it look good.
The customer likes it but you don't make money that way. You gotta get the job done fast. If you find other problems then alert the customer ASAP and repair that too while you're in there but you can't waste time making it pretty. That always bugged me.
I've also had customers that were watching and tell me "you're doing that wrong" and start argueing with me. Then do it yourself! I work my way, not theirs.

Time to go get kids from school....

[Dennyz]

We (XS'ers) have to realize that our bikes are old. They are older than most bike mechanics now days. There is no real money to be made working on old bikes. A person that paid $10k for their bike may be able to live with an $800 shop bill. That is more than a lot of us paid for our bikes. This is no excuse for poor customer support and sloppy work. However, I don’t see it getting better. Many shops won’t even take our bikes in.

I gave up on shops a long time ago. I figure I can screw it up for nothing, why pay someone. The last time I had my bike in a shop, was to have a tire changed (in Phoenix). I heard a bunch of banning going on so I thought I would look in. The guy was taking a hammer to my 4:1 pipe and muffler. He could not get the wheel off without removing the muffler (true). But, rather than take a minute to notice that it unbolted (clamp hidden behind the pipe) he was going to beat it off. His comment was “why in the hell did I put this custom crap on my bike”. Doh! Who customize a bike??????? This was not a small shop. It was a huge mega shop with a bunch of jerks running around that whre only interested in big $$.

Save your money and wrench it yourself. There might still be some frustration involved, but there is a lot more satisfaction to be had.

That is my $0.02

[John]

We may not have the shop space we all would like here in the forum, but we have some of the best XS wrenchers in the business. I like to think that I know a good bit about the XS11, but that's as far as my intimate knowledge goes. I don't know squat about any other makes or even any other yama models, except the FJ11, that's why I don't feel that I could open a bike repair shop, and do as good a job as feel I should for a paying customer. Now if was an XS exclusive shop then I could make a decent living.
Most of us are so old that we have zits on our asses that are older than most of the punks working at the dealerships. There is a dealer less than two miles from me, but I won't go there. The owner is an a$$hole, and he overcharges by 10-20% more than suggested retail. I have told them this also. I will drive 15 miles to the next closest dealership. They have some older guys there who appreciate what I/we are doing with my/our old bikes. They don't try to rip me off either. I called them a few years ago for some fork seals. They had some, and quoted me something like $15 apiece. Kinda high but they were OEM. I have not had any luck with aftermarket seals. Anyway, when I rolled up, some of the guys were outside having a smoke. They came over to me and looked my bike over, and complimented me on it. When I went inside to get my seals, they only charged me $12 for the SET! Both sides! That's what I call good customer service. Any place like that deserves my repeat business. And gets it.

[Dennyz]

John brings up a good point. Shop space and tools are not cheap or easy to come by. I started in the spare bedroom of my apartment with a Craftsman tool set. When I needed help with the rent, I worked outside. Each time I moved, my shop space got better. I now have shop heaven that took 37 years to acquire.

These bikes take more know-how than space or tool to keep working. This site is the best for accessing that know-how.

If you find a good shop or dealer, spread the word. My local Yamaha dealer is OK. They like what I do with my XS, but aren't much help with service.

[John]

Shop space...Where I work we have a new shop with over 15k sq ft of SHOP FLOOR! That's not including the stock room or brake rooms. I have my taco wagon tool box parked in my own bay. At home, my shop is my 20 x 24 garage. I have to share space with a freezer, washer/dryer, 3 tool boxes, table saw, miter saw, band saw, you get the picture...Anyway, when I need to get serious on a job, SOMETHING goes out side. Bikes, or some saws. If it's raining (now) nothing gets done. Bikes don't go out when it rains. Saws don't either. I have SWMBO's FJ11 torn down right now trying to find a knockthat I could sware was coming from the rear of the engine, but eveything checks ok. I was going tpo Plasti Gage the mains tonight, but it's raining...

[excess11]

Re: Had Enough!!

I think that the trend of poor service is every where, The first Yamaha shop I went to said that they did not even have shop books for 78' model year and that basically they were unwilling to help me. I also have two snowmobile shops locally that will not work on a sled that was not sold by them. A marina near me will not work on any boat motor more than 10 years old. They will not even sell you parts for anything more than 10 years old. They get pissed if you even ask. I think that most shops want you to buy a new product every couple of years and spend large amounts of cash or you are not worth their time to mess with and they have no problem turning on an attitude. The customer is always wright is a thing of the past. It is now give me your money and I do not care if you are pissed or not. I now repair everything myself !!! I will not deal with the poor attitudes at repair anymore.

[randy]

My dad tought me a long time ago that if you want something done right, do it yourself. He had six simple rules of repair:

1. If you f**ck it up, you've no one to blame but yourself.

2. Even if you have to do the job more than once to get it right, it will still cost you less than letting a hack f**ck it up and paying him for it.

3. Buy good tools, the cheap ones will let you down when you need them most.

4. You can never have enough tools (see rule 3).

5. Once you've mastered a repair, pass on the knowledge to someone who needs it.

6. Finally, never lend your tools, help someone with them but take them home with you.

Thanks, Dad.

[Dragonrider]

I do all my own wrenching . . . even tire changes/mounting/balancing. Mechanic shops now don't have mechanics . . . or if they do, maybe one. Then they collect from you for the hours they say they are going to spend on it, and then pay some kid piece work to fix your ride. That means no knowledge + incentive to get it done super quick . . . Environmental regs are hitting the small guys hard, so all that's left is the high volume dealers . . .

I haven't found a trustworthy shop in two decades. They can't even mount tires right anymore.

And guys, true for car and bike shops both . . . if they won't let you in the service area to see what's up and cheerfully explain what they are intending to do and why . . . AND ask for your input . . . then they are trying to pull something.

There ain't many extra bits on a motorcycle.

Your ride, your life. Be meticulous with both. If you can find a mechanic that understands this connection, count yourself lucky. Most are just part's/quick-lube jockeys now.

[bkr]

Wife's Ride

Hey John Looks like you found a way to slow SWMBO's FJ11 down. One piston and rod should be enough..LOL . bkr

[John]

OR

I could leave off one of the compression rings Actually, I didn't remove the cylinder, I just split the cases to check the trans and the clutch.